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Beatriz of Davis, CA, writes:
I took my 1997 Explorer in to a Ford dealership because it had a jammed gas cap. They put the truck on the diagnostic computer (as a matter of course, I guess); the readout was that the truck needed gaskets. I denied to have the work done because I was not having any problems with the truck. They said that the truck was at the approximate mileag where it would need the work. Again, I declined.

The day after taking the truck home, I started having problems with starting and hesitation. I took the truck back to the same dealership. Again, they said that I needed the gaskets, and now, a battery as well. I had them do the work because I was going to be driving to S. California to visit my family for the holidays (400 mile trip). I had trouble with the truck en route and had to stop several times.

When I got to S. California I took the truck to the dealership where I purchased it. They put the truck on the diagnostic computer and it revealed that I needed gaskets, the same ones that I just paid to have replaced; my husband told them that that was not possible because I had just had the work done. The mechanic, thinking that we were insinuating that he was a liar, took my husband to the truck and showed him that the truck engine had never been taken apart, that the gaskets were the original ones, which have been discovered to be faulty and the design has since changed. The mechanic said that those gaskets had been on the truck since 'day one.'

We went ahead and authorized the work to be done, but asked for the old gaskets to be given to us. Once they replaced the gaskets they told us that they also had to replace the tensioners, because the old ones could not go back on once they had been removed. So, we had them do that as well. According to them the new tensioners started eating up the engine, they put in a another set, and they ate up the engine as well. They said that as a result, the truck would need a new engine. Originally, they wanted us to pay for the new engine in full, but we said, "no way."

After some time of letting the truck just sit there, they offered to sell us a warranty and back date it. So we bought the warranty for $495 and the engine was replaced. However, we still had to pay for other things that brought the bill to approximately $1,400. I have since asked the dealership in S. California to sign an affidavit claiming that when they received the truck, the gasket work had not been done, and they declined. The credit card company needs the affidavit in order to process the dispute for the charges from the first dealership.

I imagine that collusion will take place and I'm going to get stuck paying for work that was never done, although I have two receipts for the exact same work using the exact same part numbers.

These are pretty serious charges. Beatriz could contact the District Attorney's Office in the county where the first dealership supposedly did the work. She can also sue the first dealership in Small Claims Court to recover the charges for the bogus repair.

There is one little problem, though. That back-dated warranty constitutes fraud -- both by the dealership and by Beatriz and her husband. All parties involved might want to re-think the way they conduct themselves.

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